Chapter 36: Twelve Years Ago [I]

A scrawny nine-year-old boy with tangled black hair, scraped knees, and a dirt-streaked face, wearing clothes that looked two sizes too big for him, sprinted through the suffocatingly narrow gap between the tenement blocks. Dust kicked up beneath his worn sneakers as he ran, his lungs burning with every desperate gasp for air. Behind him, heavy footsteps thundered relentlessly against the cracked concrete, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

"Stop right there, stinking Darius!"

"You can’t run forever, rat!"

"I said stop right there, you stinking rat!"

The jeers bounced off the crumbling brick walls as Darius rounded a sharp corner, his vision blurring from exhaustion. He risked a glance over his shoulder and immediately regretted it. Four boys were charging after him. All of them were older. Bigger. Stronger. Their faces were flushed with excitement, the kind that came from knowing their victim had nowhere left to go.

His lungs burned. The alley split ahead.

Darius darted sharply to the left and squeezed into a narrow gap behind a rotting timber crate stacked against the back wall of an abandoned laundry shop. He dove into the shadowed alcove and wedged his small frame into the tightest corner he could find, clamping both hands hard over his mouth to muffle the frantic, whistling sound of his breathing. He was scared shitless.

"Where’d the little bastard go?" a deeper voice barked, the footsteps slowing just past the narrow alley entrance.

"He was right here. Check behind the crates. He couldn’t have made it to the main street."

"Hey! Mutt! We know you’re out here!"

Darius squeezed his eyes shut tightly, pressing his forehead against the damp brick as the voices drew terrifyingly close, the scrape of shoe soles against concrete sending fresh waves of panic through him.

Please don’t find me. Please don’t find me.

He repeated the plea over and over in his head. His entire body trembled.

One of the boys laughed. "The little coward’s probably crying somewhere."

"You think he climbed a fence?"

"No way. He’s too scrawny to climb anything."

The footsteps began moving again, spreading out as they searched. Darius’s heart hammered so violently he was certain they could hear it.

"Show yourself already, rat!" another voice called mockingly. "Maybe we’ll only hit you a little this time, I promise!"

The burst of laughter that followed echoed through the alley, then the footsteps suddenly stopped. Everything went deathly silent. Darius didn’t dare breathe.

"Found you!" A sharp, agonizing yank jerked his head backward.

His eyes flew open as a yelp ripped from his throat before he could stop it. A heavy fist had tangled itself in his hair and tightened mercilessly. Pain shot through his scalp.

"Ah! Please, let me go!" Darius cried out as he was violently yanked forward.

The biggest of the boys grinned viciously as Darius clawed desperately at the hand gripping his hair, but it was useless. With a brutal heave, the older boy dragged him completely out of his hiding spot by the scalp and hurled him forward.

"Oops," the older boy mocked as Darius hit the ground hard enough to drive the air from his lungs. The concrete tore open the skin on his palms. He scrambled frantically to his feet, his hands scraping raw against the rough ground, but before he could find his footing, the other boys fanned out around him, circling him tightly like a pack of wolves and cutting off every possible escape route.

His stomach dropped. The leader remained directly in front of him, a cruel, satisfied grin stretching across his face as he cracked his knuckles and took a slow step toward Darius.

He leaned down until they were nearly eye level, the vicious smile never leaving his face. "Where do you think you’re running off to, little rat of the slums?"

The boys around him burst into laughter.

Darius instinctively dropped into a kowtow, pressing his forehead toward the dirt while rubbing his palms together in a desperate, trembling plea.

"P-Please, just let me go," he whimpered, tears cutting clean tracks through the grime on his cheeks. "I promise I won’t tell Mother Lucy about this. I swear it. Just please don’t hurt me—"

The bigger boy drove his foot straight into Darius’s side. The impact folded him in half with a choked gasp, the air exploding from his lungs as pain flared white-hot through his chest. He didn’t even allow himself time to cry out. Instead, he scrambled back into the kowtow position, trembling violently as he endured the agony ripping through him, tears streaming down his face.

"Who do you think you’re threatening right now?" the leader snarled, seizing a thick handful of Darius’s hair and yanking his head violently upward.

Darius cried out. His small hands clawed at the wrist gripping his hair, desperately trying to relieve the burning pain tearing across his scalp. "Please, I’m sorry. Please," he sobbed.

The boy gave another sharp tug on Darius’s hair, forcing a cry from his throat.

"Hand it over." He extended his free hand between them, palm up, fingers curling impatiently in a clear demand.

"Give me the money those charity workers gave you," he ordered, giving Darius another rough shake, tossing him around like a broken toy. "Now."

"Please, don’t take it," Darius choked out, fresh tears spilling over his lashes as he writhed in the painful grip. "Please, just let me keep this one. I want to save it to buy—"

A sharp, ringing slap cracked across his face, snapping his head to the side and leaving a fiery red imprint on his cheek.

"Give it now while we’re asking nicely," the leader hissed.

Trembling violently, Darius fumbled in his pocket with shaking fingers and pulled out a crumpled bundle of bills. The bigger boy snatched the money from his palm with a rough yank, then shoved Darius away so hard he hit the dirt.

"You didn’t hide any, did you?" the boy sneered as he counted the money.

Darius shook his head frantically, even though the bigger boy wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were fixed entirely on the bills before he stuffed them into his own pocket.

The leader jerked his chin toward the three other boys. "Search him. Make sure he isn’t holding out."

The boys descended on Darius like scavengers. They tore through his pockets, shoved him against the brick wall, and patted him down with brutal efficiency. Darius flinched at every rough grab and shove, biting back sobs as their hands searched every inch of him. When they found nothing, the leader clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Alright, let him go. Next time, you should just hand it over before things get out of hand."

Darius nodded quickly, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his sleeve while trying to hold back fresh tears.

The boys laughed. The leader turned on his heel, flashing a lazy grin at his cronies.

"Come on, boys. Let’s go."

They turned to leave, only to stop in their tracks when they found their path blocked by a young boy standing silently at the mouth of the alley, watching them with a dark, unblinking expression.